A recent analysis by the World Customs Organization (WCO) of over 2,600 seizures of drug in maritime containers across 2023 and 2024 found that about 68% of the smuggling methods involved some level of insider support somewhere in the chain. These findings point squarely to the need for more sophisticated, public–private responses that combine Customs authority and law enforcement powers with industry insight, technology and comprehensive information sharing built on trust to support a two-way flow of information.
Building partnership on the ground
Over the past several years, the WCO, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Shipping Council (WSC) have worked closely together to turn mutual understanding into operational cooperation and information exchange between shipping lines and enforcement authorities on the ground (see article published in WCO News 103 edition).
In some countries, the cooperation translates into to a continuous two-way exchange of data between enforcement officers and shipping line staff. Data sharing includes shipment identity context, routing and transshipment context, and chain of custody irregularities. WSC’s policy teams and participating carriers now treat this as a continuous improvement loop: industry shares risk signals and anomalies; authorities return feedback on outcomes and emerging modus operandi; both refine targeting and risk assessment.
That evolution has also been supported by the WCO’s practical guidance codeveloped with industry. The WCO’s Guideline on Customs Responses to Industry Referral includes measures such as single points of contact in Customs agencies, timely feedback to referrers, and regular post incident analysis – concrete steps that help convert referrals into learning and better prevention without compromising investigations.
What’s next: continuing the learning loop
As part of this ongoing collaboration, ocean carriers also contribute speakers for WCO regional seminars for Customs authorities to build shared understanding of supply chain vulnerabilities and identify commonly understood suspicious activity.
The collaboration continues to deepen. In September, a WCO/WSC/IAPH conference in Brussels brought together Customs, ports, and ocean carrier representatives, as well as trade operators and government officials, to discuss what would be “A collective response to safeguard maritime supply chains from criminal threats”.
Participants heard about the measures taken to protect staff, assets, operations, reputation and society as a whole. Panelists highlighted the need for all organizations in the maritime supply chain to recognize that they are likely impacted by organized crime, regardless of their role, size and location. They also stressed that establishing a continuous dialogue between stakeholders would enable parties to jointly learn from the other’s operations and needs thereby creating opportunities for improving their respective operational models.
Approaches to make such partnerships work and lessons learned from existing initiatives were presented. Multiple speakers pointed to the need for specific discussions between enforcement agencies and industry on the identification and expedited sharing of data that will bring additional value for targeting contaminated and compromised containers. Joint post-incident analysis and regular coordination meetings to share information on emerging issues and concerns were mentioned as best practices.
Shipping line and port representatives also discussed the limitations of some of the measures they are taking, such as staff protection, background checks or termination procedures, and the need for government’s support to enhance their efficiency. There was also discussion regarding unintended consequences of well-intentioned and needed privacy and competition laws that can make it difficult to identify and disrupt criminal networks.
Protecting people while we protect the supply chain
Partnership also means protecting the seafarers and frontline workers who keep trade moving. WSC and its members have consistently argued against the unfair criminalisation of seafarers who report irregularities in good faith. Public-private frameworks must encourage reporting, provide confidential channels, and ensure responses are proportionate.
Beyond narcotics: the same model for other threats
While this article focuses on narcotics, the public–private model is already being applied to other risks and regions, whether through EU cooperation to strengthen port security and information sharing, or through joint efforts to combat Illegal Wildlife Trade with governments, international organisations and NGOs. Readers can find practical, open access guidance and “red flag” indicators developed by industry coalitions to help the entire chain identify and report wildlife trafficking on the WSC website.
More information
https://www.worldshipping.org
alarsson@worldshipping.org
